Well Below Average

A few weeks ago Liam brought home results from the MAP testing he took in kindergarten. Thankfully, I met with his teacher the day before the results were sent home and she told me to ignore them. Also, I don't put much stock in this test that's done on the computer, especially after seeing Liam's lack of mouse skills. (The company should develop the test for iPads.)

Anyway... His test results all read "well below average."

Does a well below average child know the names of every person in a large facility? And also greet them with smiles?

Can a well below average child look at a very over tired mamma and ask, "what's wrong? Are you sad today?" And then follow that up with a kiss and a smile?

Does a well below average child ask his sick older brother how he's feeling? And then offer him the remote so he can pick the next show?

Does a well below average child manage to win a smile from even the most "standoffish" adult?

My well below average child may not be reading books yet (which, by the way I think is a totally inappropriate expectation for his age), but my well below average child has social skills well beyond his years.

And honestly. In the long run... I believe his social skills will serve him better than high test scores at any point in his education.

Science Fair

I recently joined a Facebook group focusing on finding and reporting something we are each grateful for each day.

Today was a very easy find.

Over seven months ago I was terrified that my outgoing, energetic, talkative, persuasive, bright, and lovable boy might never talk more than a few words at a time.

I remember posting on Facebook how I missed Liam.

I remember crying to his speech therapist during one of our first visits when she said, "it's just so hard, because I can tell he wants to have a full conversation with me, but he just can't."

And then a few weeks ago he came home from school telling us he was going to do the science fair. He told us his idea (put one plant in the closet and the other in the sun and see what happens), asked Mike to buy two plants at the store, and gave them names.

I'll admit. I was nervous. Would the judges be made aware of his aphasia? Will he be able to explain his project on the morning of judging? Or will his words be hard to find that morning? He has been doing so well in regards to his language, but he still struggles at times. Should I make sure the judges know about his fine motor weakness caused by his stroke? And the aphasia?

I decided to just see what happens.

So we did the project. We learned that the plant in the closet didn't die, but the colors on the leaves and flowers were much lighter than the colors on the plant who got sunlight. We typed up what he dictated to us. We made the poster having him do as much as he could with his fine motor skills.

Then the morning of the science fair came and Liam was more than excited to line up with all the kids, leave me behind, and go wait by his poster for the judges.

I don't know what went on during those twenty minutes, but I do know that Liam was one of the last students to return and came skipping down the hallway with a huge grin on his face.

As soon as he saw me he said, "That was so much fun!" Of course it was, he had the undivided attention of two judges. (One of them happened to be his kindergarten teacher.)

He does still love to hold conversations. His confidence is back and today just proved it!

Quinn's Writing Journal

Here's a few excerpts from Quinn's second grade writing journal.

"Dear Miss M,
I wish I was in math right now!!
Love,
Quinn"

"Dear Quinn,
I know that you love math and that you're awesome at it! Why don't you write about why you like math and what kind of math you like.
Your teacher,
Miss M"

"Quinn loves math. He knows 11\2=5.5 and is even in third grade math because the square root of 100 is 10. He loves football video games. He likes football. He knows the square root of 400 is 20. He loves himself."

First Days

 

Yesterday was the boys first day of school - Liam starting kindergarten and Quinn starting second grade.   The past two weeks have been difficult for me.  I've probably spent too much time thinking about how the start of the school year was supposed to be - how Liam was going to be without the difficulties resulting from his stroke.  I won't go into the details, but he was going to own that place.  His confidence, his personality, his language, his friends...

 

Anyway... I must say that after the first day I felt much relief.  The speech therapist and occupational therapist made sure to touch base with me during the brief 30 minute window given to parents to meet the teachers/drop off supplies.  They also introduced themselves to Liam and the occupational therapist played with him outside for a bit.  His teacher has just been absolutely amazing in her communication with me and gave me a big thumbs up and a smile at the end of his first morning.  Liam also came out with a huge smile on his face.

 

He wasn't worried or nervous at all about starting... it was if he did own that place.  I'm still nervous that he's going to struggle to communicate with his friends, but after watching him play with one of his good buddies yesterday after the PTA sponsored picnic, I felt a bit better.

 

Another bright note - he had a homework assignment to put two things into a small paper bag to help describe him.  He immediately said, "I am strong," and found a 3-pound weight that would fit into the bag.  Then he struggled for what else and I asked him what he likes to play... "Baseball" - so he went into school this morning with those two things and I hope that the words come easily to him while he's describing them to his class.  We also had to decorate a paper-cut-out of a boy and he was able to communicate with me his ideas (with some help).

 

I'm going to try to follow some advice from a good friend and focus on what's in front of me right now and just take very brief glances at the past and the future.  It hasn't been easy for me to imagine what this week would have been like if the stroke never happened.  But, it did happen, and the support I've gotten thus far from the school has been amazing and Liam, so far, seems happy and excited to be going to kindergarten.